Competition promotes innovation among Damietta’s youth

The fourth round of the “Rowad Damietta” competition for start-ups and existing enterprises just concluded in the governorate, offering a platform that supports entrepreneurship and innovation among youth. With a total of 150 participating enterprises this year, nine winners were awarded financial prizes totalling nearly EGP 1 million.

The competition is a flagship initiative, now in its fourth consecutive year, organized by the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Decent Jobs for Egypt's People: Together to Develop the Youth in Damietta (DJEP) project funded by Methanex Egypt. Since its launch, the competition has received a total of 926 ideas from participating enterprises, reflecting ongoing support to Damietta’s youth entrepreneurship.

“Rowad Damietta” entails several competitive stages; the initial stages witnessed 50 out of the 150 contestants qualifying for the semi-final stage. To support them leading up to the competition finals, the project delivered a series of capacity-building trainings to enhance participants’ skills. The final round took place on 9 December 2025 and was assessed by a panel of 12 experts in emerging enterprises development, entrepreneurship and innovation.

© ILO

© ILO

The 2025 winning enterprises span vital sectors including services, industry, digital transformation & artificial intelligence. In the category of existing enterprises, Great Valley and Stride were announced as winners. In the start-up category, the winning enterprises were Future Smart Bioplastic, Digitalista, Autopipe X, Aster, Wood In Wood, Nanoboard and Yar.

Keynote remarks on Damietta's youth

The finals awards ceremony was attended by Dr. Ayman Elshehaby, Governor of Damietta; Eric Oechslin, Director of the ILO Office Cairo; and Mohamed Shindy, Managing Director of Methanex Egypt. The event was also attended by Eng. Shaimaa El-Seddik, Deputy Governor of Damietta, the Secretary-General, the Assistant Secretary-General, the official spokesperson of the Governorate; along with Mohamed El-Nagar, Head of the Central Sector for Non-Financial Services at the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (MSMEDA).

Governor Ayman Elshehaby commended the project’s objectives, which support the Governorate’s efforts, affirming the field of entrepreneurship as a key priority at the present time, particularly for localising small, medium-sized enterprises and start-ups, promoting innovation, combating unemployment, and achieving economic growth and the Sustainable Development Goals, as adopted by the Egyptian State.

He also highlighted the importance of supporting young people, whom he described as the cornerstone of building an innovative and competitive economy - concluding with a message of support to the participants:

The participants present pioneering models that herald a better future and proof that determination, knowledge and creativity can achieve real success.

Dr. Ayman Elshehaby, Governor of Damietta

Eric Oechslin, Director of ILO Cairo Office, expressed satisfaction with the success and outcomes of the partnership: “We value the partnership between the ILO and Methanex Egypt, and we strive to replicate this experience of public–private partnership with more donors from the Egyptian private sector.”

Oechslin also expressed appreciation to all partners who have supported ILO interventions, noting that DJEP is one of three projects currently operating in Damietta.

In Damietta, we support young people and equip them with the skills needed to become more employable.

Eric Oechslin, Director of ILO Cairo Office

In his remarks, Mohamed Shindy, Managing Director of Methanex Egypt, stated: “This competition comes within the framework of our long-standing partnership with the ILO, which began in 2018 with the aim of supporting young entrepreneurs in Damietta Governorate to develop their enterprises and contribute to creating employment opportunities for themselves and others.

To date, the DJEP project has successfully trained more than 3,250 young women and men and contributed to the creation of approximately 1,400 job opportunities in Damietta.

Mohamed Shindy, Managing Director of Methanex Egypt

© ILO

© ILO